Quincy Hunter s2: Gathering Darkness
by VenomSpider33
Summary: Season 2 of the QUncy Hunter: Ichigo, Damian, Ed, and Al are in for a rough ride. New classes, new enemies, and new friends all amount to a very tough semester, but when they realize the full strength of Cinder and her allies, they realize they need to up their game, discovering abilities they never knew they had.
1. Chapter 1

Season 2 Chapter One: Best Day Ever. Of all time.

**A/N: aaaaaaand I'm back! After taking a two month long hiatus from writing to recharge the creative batteries, I have returned with the first chapter of the Quincy Hunter, my most popular story yet! This season, expect drama, romance, character development, action, puns, and references! My god, the references! So, without further ado, I give you episode one of this epic second season!**

Cinder opened her eyes to a blank ceiling, taking in the dim light of her private quarters. She tried to sit up, only for her side to flare in pain. 'Dammit. I forgot how much Quincy attacks hurt. That's not even factoring in my current strength.' She thought to herself, recalling her battle at the docks. 'In the old days, I could have healed from a Quincy attack in a day of two, but it's been two weeks now and the wound Kurosaki dealt me is still here. Kurosaki…' her face twisted in anger at the thought of the orange haired Quincy, and even more when she recalled how easily he knocked aside Cleo and Marcus. 'I thought the power sleeping inside him would be useful to us somehow, but now he's slowly gaining more power.' She thought, recalling Ichigo's transformation. 'For a moment, it seemed as if his spiritual pressure…adapted to me, almost as if it awakened that power simply to fight me.' She said in her head, standing up and walking over to a chest. 'He's dangerous, more dangerous than anyone else on this world, but that won't matter. I'll kill him if he interferes again.' Cinder opened the chest, revealing a glowing, rainbow-colored marble-shaped stone. 'NOTHING will stop me from my goal.'

**Vale**

"We're lost." Marcus said as he and Cleo walked through the city, a piece of paper in her hands.

"We're not lost. I know EXACTLY where we're going." Cleo said.

"We've passed that same dust shop four times now." Marcus said, pointing to a building with 'From Dust Till Dawn' on the window, where an old man was hanging a banner that said 'Grand Reopening.' "Maybe he knows where the shop is."

"Marcus, we've been in this region for almost 100 years now. I think I know my way around this town." Cleo said, her pride keeping her from telling her companion they were indeed lost.

"Y'know, we could always ask for directions." Marcus suggested, and slightly flinched at the death glare his red eyed partner threw at him.

"I am NOT asking a human for directions." The mint-haired Arrancar seethed out.

"Alright, alright." He said, before snatching the paper out of her hand and walking up to a bear Faunus. "Do you know where this shop is?"

"Sure do. Just take a right past that dust shop, take a left at Sidewinder Street, head down Charon Avenue, and you'll be there." The Faunus said, and Marcus walked back to Cleo, whose eyes were dangerously narrow.

"What? You said you weren't going to ask a human for help." He said, and she placed her hand on her swords, twin sickles that were strapped to her rear waist

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here." She growled, when he chuckled, pulling up his right sleeve to reveal the number '-2' tattooed on his forearm.

"Because we both know how a fight between us will end." He said, and she sneered, removing her hands from her blades. "You need to learn to not be so prideful about everything. Asking for help never hurt anyone." She scowled, before removing her hands from her weapons.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Cleo said, and the two followed the directions the Faunus had given them, soon arriving at a building marked 'Tukson's Book Trade.' The two entered a bell ringing as Marcus opened the door.

"Be right there!" A male voice said from the back, and a few minutes later, a middle-aged man with grey hair, mutton chops, and amber eyes came out of the back, two stacks of books in his hands. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun." He said as he set the books down. "How may I-" he stopped when he saw their faces, but quickly regained his composure. "How may I help you?"

"Just browsing." Marcus said, picking up a book.

"You two here for the tournament?" He said, eyeing their weapons.

"Something like that." Cleo said. "I was wondering, do you have any copies of Memoirs of Violet Hill?"

"I actually got that in just last week. Would you like a copy?" Tukson asked.

"No, just wondering." Cleo said, and the *thud* of Marcus shutting a book resonated through the store. "How about…Beauty and the Beast, in paperback?"

"He's got it. Hardback too." Marcus said. "If you're not going to buy something, let's go. We've got other errands to run."

"Hold on. Just one more and we'll go." Cleo said, when she snapped her fingers. "I know! What about…Third Crusade?" At this, Tukson narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think we carry that one." He said.

"I'm sorry, but aren't you Tukson, the person who owns this store?" Cleo asked.

"Yes." He said.

"So aren't you also the one who came up with the phrase 'Every Book Under the Sun?'" Marcus asked, moving towards the light switch.

"Except for Third Crusade, that is." Cleo said, and Tukson simply stood there, clenching his fists. "Well, aren't you?"

"It's just a catchphrase." The Store Owner flatly stated, his knuckles cracking as Marcus reached the light switch.

"It's false advertising is what it is!" Cleo stated as the lights started darkening. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Tukson. You've been making your brothers in the White Fang very unhappy lately. First it was helping Blake Belladonna hide until she was accepted into Beacon after she ran away…" as spoke, Marcus continued to dim the lights. "…then all those anonymous tips the government got on the White Fang's supply lines, and now we've gotten word you plan to leave Vale. Take your business all the way to Vacuo. Do you know who we are?"

"Yes." Tukson flatly stated, keeping emotion out of his voice.

"Then you know why we're here." Marcus said as he turned off the final lights, before flipping the sign on the door to 'closed.'

"Yes."

"Now, are you going to come quietly?" Cleo asked, and Tukson's nails sharpened into claws.

"NO!" He growled as he leapt onto the counter. He leapt off towards Cleo, only for her to grab him by the throat. His neck went *SNAP!* as Cleo twisted her wrist, his body going limp.

"How disappointing, given his reputation." She said, dropping his body on the floor. "C'mon, Cinder should be awake by now."

"AS long as you don't get us lost this time." Marcus said, ignoring Cleo's insults as a garganta opened.

**Beacon Academy**

In the massive cafeteria of Beacon, stocked with incredibly hard loafs of bread, dangerously sharp vegetables, an insane amount of soda, watermelons, and turkeys, Teams IDEA, RWBY, JNPR, and CDVR were all eating lunch and chatting. A scene like this, and the events that transpired two weeks ago might have seemed like a bad dream, but none of them could forget that, especially not one Ichigo Kurosaki. 'The monster sleeping inside me…what does that even mean?' Ichigo thought, pretending to listen to his friends. 'Juha isn't saying anything, and according to the nurses, my aura is back to full strength, with nothing out of the ordinary. So why do I have the feeling that everything is NOT normal?' He thought, when Ed waved his hand in Ichigo's face.

"Yo, Remnant to Strawberry. Are you even in there?" The Green haired swordsman asked, snapping Ichigo out of his daydream.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about what the year is gonna be like once all the classes start back up." Ichigo said.

"I heard they're adding a new class for the freshmen this year." Pyrrha said. "Professor Port mentioned something about it when I was helping him after class last week."

"But why after the first month? It's highly unusual for a new freshman class to start a month into the second semester." Chain said, and Pyrrha simply shrugged.

"He said that the teacher had been busy with some personal business, but that she should be here on Monday." The Champion said.

"Did he say anything about who the teacher is?" Al asked.

"I asked who she was, and he told me that she graduated here about three years ago." Pyrrha said.

"Three years ago? That means she'd be about, what, 24? That's pretty young for a teacher. " Deezal said, and Damian, who was in the middle of drinking a glass of water, froze.

"Apparently she was at the top of her class." Pyrrha answered.

'No way. It couldn't be her…could it?' He thought, and Velvet noticed his paralysis.

"Damian? Is something wrong?" She asked, and he set his glass down.

"No. Everything's alright." Damian said, though everyone could hear a hint of hopefulness and fear in his voice. It was then Yang noticed Blake staring at a notebook.

"Hey Blake, whatcha doin'?" Yang asked, scooting next to her partner, who quickly shut her book.

"Nothing. Just reviewing some notes from last semester." Blake said, putting her notebook back in her bag as Yang caught a grape, flung by Nora, in her mouth.

"Wait, where are Ruby and Romeo?" Weiss asked, when Romeo came up and dropped a large binder on the table, giving a sigh of relief.

"Thank God…I finally made it!" He panted out, when Ruby appeared from behind him.

"Sisters, friends, Weiss!" Ruby said, gesturing around the table.

"HEY!" The heiress exclaimed, slightly irritated by her leader putting her in her own category.

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream!" The Huntress in training said.

"This oughta be good." Yang said as she caught two more grapes in her mouth.

"A dream that today, the four of us, plus the rest of you guys, would join forces, and we would have the best day ever. Of All Time!"

"Did you just steal Wash's catchphrase?" Ichigo asked.

"Is that my binder?" Weiss inquired.

"I am not a crook!" The cloak wearer denied.

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

"I'm talking about officially kicking off the semester with a bang!" The young team leader declared.

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" The blonde brawler said, and Ichigo facepalmed.

"Goddammit Yang." He said, and a tomato flung by none other than Nora hit her in the nose.

"Boo!" Nora said, and Yang growled.

"Look guys, considering what happened a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea that we do something to tale our minds off certain…things…and just have fun!" Ruby said. "There are going to be more exchange students coming in for the festival over the next two weeks, and between the tournament, that new class, and everything else, this weekend is the last day we're going to have to enjoy ourselves! Yang, Al, you two can finally use this as an excuse to go on a date!" This caused the archer and the brawler to both blush.

"Uh, w-we're just…we're just waiting for things to quiet down in Vale." Al said.

"Yeah. What he said!" Yang said, and Ed raised an eyebrow.

"Really? That's the best you can come up with?" He said.

"I don't know guys. I think I might just sit-" Blake started to say, when Ruby held up her hand.

"Oh no you don't. If you do your usual 'loner' routine, then Ichigo is going to want to sit out, and then Ed, Al, and Damian will join him, and then Weiss, Yang, and Velvet won't want to do anything because then they won't want you to feel left out!" Ruby explained, all in one breath. "I put a lot of thought into this."

"Now if only you put this much effort into your schoolwork." Weiss said.

"Shots fired!" Nora said, ducking an apple from Yang.

"Regardless, I think however we spend this last weekend, it should be as a team." The Heiress said as she rose from the table. "Does anyone-?" Whatever she was trying to say, she was stopped from saying it. Kind of difficult to talk when a pie, thrown by a certain orange haired female named Nora, hits you in the face, leaving her teammates in various states of facepalm.

"Shit." Ed said, as a white glow surrounded Weiss, causing the air temperature around her to drop significantly. Weiss, being the mature almost-18 year old that she was, did what any mature adult would in her situation: grab a cupcake and throw it. However, her aim, normally very on point, was thrown off by anger and embarrassment, missed its target, instead hitting Romeo, who had just recovered from his short rest, in the face. His blue eyes glistened with anger, and he grabbed a sandwich and tossed it, hitting Damian in the face. After that, things escalated.

Meanwhile, just outside the lunch hall, Sun was walking next to a boy with blue hair, tanned skin, goggles on his forehead, and wearing white dress shirt with a black tie under a red jacket with an upturned collar and gray jeans. "…and then when I wake up, there's this guy who says he patched up my leg, and that I have to work for him to make up for the supplies he used." Sun said. "So I work for him for about week and a half, when he tells me I'm free to go."

"So you finally got off your ass and got a job instead of stealing from productive members of society?" The boy asked.

"Hey, lay off Neptune. At least I didn't just sit around the academy for two weeks." Sun said.

"Still, I wish I could have gotten a picture of you in an apron. Sage and Scarlet would have loved that." Neptune said. "So tell me about these guys at the docks."

"Well, they're pretty cool. I've hung out with them a few times since. The orange haired guy, Ichigo, uses this really cool bow thingy that comes out of this bracelet he wears. Then there's Damian, who uses this big cross thing that holds a LOT of guns." Sun said. "There's Blake, who is super awesome. She's smart, fast, strong, and the best part? She's a Faunus!" Sun quickly realized what he said, and leaned in close to Neptune. "But that's a secret. And a SECRET secret, not a 'tell Sage and Scarlet the minute Sun turns his back' secret, got it?"

"I got it, man. Just chill. I won't blab your girlfriend's bug secret, ok?" Neptune said, while several piece of food, plates, and even Jaune hit the window near them, but Sun and Neptune didn't even notice.

"She's already got a boyfriend, but that's not the point. I just don't want to screw things up with these guys. They're the coolest people ever." Sun said. "No offense to you guys."

"None taken." Neptune said as they approached the cafeteria door.

"Look, just, be cool, alright?" Sun said, and Neptune did a pose.

"Dude." Neptune stated, his teeth giving off a small shine.

"Good point." Sun said, and the two entered the cafeteria, only for multiple students to run past them.

"Food fight!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Nora cackled from atop multiple tables and chairs that were stacked on top of one another, her teammates on various levels. "I'm Queen of the Castle I'm Queen of the Castle!"

"Justice will be painful… Justice will be swift…it will be…DELICIOUS!" Ruby cried out, crushing a carton of milk in her hands as her team surged behind her.

"Yeah!" WBY yelled out.

"Men, to battle! Show no mercy, no matter your opponent!" Ichigo said as his team took up fighting poses behind him.

"RAHHHH!" DEA screamed out, and everyone looked at Chain.

"Uh…attack!" She said, and Deezal shrugged.

"Works for me." He stated, and thus, the battle began.

Ren kicked three melons into the air, Jaune grabbed one and threw it, Pyrrha threw two into the air, and Nora jumped off her tower and lifted an entire table of melons up, throwing them into the air. "Yang, turkeys!" Rub shouted out, and Yang nodded, running forward and sticking two turkeys onto her fists.

"Ed!" Ichigo ordered, and Ed nodded, grabbing a baguette off a nearby table and deflecting any melon that sailed towards him, whole Yang punched melons out of the air using her turkey gloves. Blake grabbed two baguettes and jumped in front of Yang, helping her swat away the melons, and Yang punched with her gloves with such force that they were sent flying, both hitting Jaune square in the chest. Blake flipped in front of Yang and grabbed two baguettes while Deezal picked up a large loaf of bread, holding it as if it was his claymore. He swung it at Blake, but she blocked with her bread-swords, and flipped over Deezal, striking him in the legs. He swung at her once again, and he thought he hit her, but he realized too late that it was one of her shadow clones, and Blake's twin breadsticks flying at his face was the last thing he saw before he was knocked unconscious. Pyrrha levitated a few soda cans off the ground, and launched them at Blake. Damian appeared in front of her, condiment bottles in each hand, and rapidly squirting out several drops, infusing them all with his aura, and each hit a can, knocking them off course. He then fired multiple shots at teams JNPR and what was left of CDVR, all of them dodging, with the exception of Jaune.

'Note to self: teach that boy how to dodge.' Pyrrha thought to herself, then grabbed three baguettes and threw them as if they were her javelin. Al dodged two of them, and grabbed the third one. He looked at it, then to a chain of sausages, then to four leeks.

"Eh, why the hell not?" He said aloud. He slightly bent the bread, took the links and quickly tied it to the bread as if it were a bowstring, and grabbed the leeks, placing them on his makeshift bow as if they were arrows.

"This is starting to get ridiculous." Ed said as Al fired the leeks at Romeo. He grabbed a tray and blocked the projectiles, and grabbed two more baguettes-how much bread does one school need?-and ran at Ed, slashing with the makeshift blades. Ed blocked with his own breadstick, and for every strike Romeo made, Ed parried it, and they would have continued like this for a while, had Weiss not grabbed a ketchup bottle and emptied it into the ground, covering the area in front of her with ketchup and making the two swordman lose their balance. Ed was about to fall flat on his ass, when he felt…something…steer his foot back towards the ground, while Romeo fell to the ground.

'What the hell? Why didn't I fall?' He thought, when he noticed Nora impale a watermelon on a pole and run towards him. Chain appeared between them, a plate of pancakes in her hands, and was about to throw them, when she noticed the crazed look in Nora's eyes.

"You…would use them as weapons? You would use the food of Gods in battle?" She said, and Chain gulped.

'This might not have been the best game plan.' She thought, and dodged the battle crazed girl's swings, until he managed to land a lucky hit, sending her flying through multiple tables and into one of the pillars, nearly causing it to collapse. Ichigo grabbed a plate of bagels and threw them at Nora, who dodged them effortlessly, and ran at him, swinging her melon-hammer.

"**Blut: Vene**!" Nora's melon shattered against Ichigo's body, and he grabbed the pole and swung her around, sending her flying into Ren and Pyrrha. "Huh. I forgot he was here." Ichigo muttered, when a link of sausages wrapped around his arm. Following the link, he saw Blake, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"What, you thought I was going to take it easy on you?" She said, and he chuckled.

"Not at all." He said, and assessed who was still standing: Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Ed, Damian, Al, and Velvet, who didn't even have a drop of food on her. "Hey, guys. Show no mercy. That's an order." Ichigo said, and Al smiled a cocky grin as he grabbed two leeks, while Yang grabbed two turkeys.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He said, and Damian stared down Velvet, an assortment of fruit between them.

"Sorry, but I have to avenge my team. You understand, right?" Velvet said, and Damian nodded.

"Right. Doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you." Damian said, his eyes assuming their cross like shape as he activated his semblance. Meanwhile, Ed was engaged in a staring contest with Weiss.

"Doesn't this bring back fond memories of Teacher making us fight each other?" Ed asked, and Weiss shuddered involuntarily.

"Don't remind me. I still get sore when I think about it." Weiss replied, picking up a…is that a swordfish?

"Super Romantic Battle of Love…BEGIN! I call winners!" Ruby yelled out, and the various couples/couples-to-be began their showdown.

Blake used the links of sausages as if it were her ribbon, using it to pull Ichigo towards her. As he flew towards his girlfriend, he grabbed a head of lettuce and threw it in Blake's face, temporarily blinding her. He used this to his advantage, and grabbed the sausages and pulled, spinning Blake around and tying her up. "Kinky!" Yang yelled out, and while normally she would have enjoyed the red faces and embarrassment of her teammate and longtime friend/brother, she was too busy dodging and blocking Al's strikes with her turkey gloves. Arms, legs, chest, shoulders, elbows…while Yang was able to block a few blows form the leek-nightsticks using her turkey gloves, he managed to land quite a few blows on her body. Al swung his vegetable weapons, at Yang's head, and she ducked.

"This the best you got, Yang?" Al taunted, and Yang prepared to block his next attack, when they saw it: a strand of golden hair, fluttering towards the ground. "Oh shi-" was all Al managed to say before Yang's lilac eyes turned red, her hair glowed yellow, and she ran at him, upper cutting him with both fists and sending him flying right through the ceilings. Meanwhile, baguette and swordfish clashed, as Ed and Weiss initiated their duel. Weiss usually went with fencing-style battle tactics, while Ed preferred the use of kenjutsu. Ed slashed with his bread-sword, only for Weiss to parry and move in for a stab. He twisted his body to avoid the aquatic weapon, but felt Weiss grab his right wrist and flip him over her, only for him to quickly recover.

"Since when were you strong enough to flip me" Ed remarked, and his girlfriend smirked.

"What, you thought I sat around twiddling my thumbs for two years?" She remarked, and rushed at him, white aura encircling her swordfish as a green aura covered his. Each giving a mighty cry, the two collided, creating a small white and green explosion, and sending Weiss onto the ground. On the other end of the cafeteria, Damian and Velvet were engaged in what was certainly the most bizarre fire fight in history, for instead of using bullets, they flung fruit at each other. Damian gathered three apples in each hand and flung them at Velvet, who backslapped over the fruit and grabbed two bananas. She squeezed them with just the right amount of force to make the bananas themselves shoot out towards Damian, who easily dodged, but was caught off guard when Velvet threw the peels at his feet, causing him to slip and fall.

"Yes!" Velvet cheered, but her victory was short lived when Ruby sailed towards, riding a tray as if it were a skateboard. The cloak wearing teenager activated her speed semblance, and ran at Velvet so fast that a large amount of food followed her, and she ran past Velvet with so much speed that the rabbit Faunus was thrown off her feet and into the wall shortly before the barrage of food hit her, and she slowly slid off, leaving a Velvet-shaped outline in the wall.

"Well this is going to be fun." Ichigo said as he and Ed stared down Ruby and Yang.

"On that, we can agree." Ruby said, and stuck a sliced melon on a baguette, swinging it as if it was her scythe.

"How much bread does this place have?" Ed muttered, picking up a new baguette, while Ichigo made a bow using the same materials Al used while Yang renewed her turkey gloves. The two pairs ran at each other, and right as they were about to clash, the doors swung open to reveal Glynda, who did NOT look happy. She waved her riding crop, and the entire room began to reorganize itself: tables were put back in their original place, plates and glasses and food were placed back on the tables, and all the combatants, including the ones that had already been defeated, were lined up before her.

"Children, do not play with your food." She said as calmly as she could. "Now, would any of you care to explain how-"

"Wait. Does anyone hear that?" Deezal asked, and everyone was dead silent. After listening closely for a few seconds, the Faunus members heard…was that screaming? That question was answered when Al fell through the roof, hitting the ground with a loud *THUD!*

"I'm ok!" He said, and Glynda felt a vein in her forehead about to pop. She was about to give them all the scolding of their lives, when Ozpin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let it go." He said, and Glynda sighed.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of humanity." She said.

"I know, and they will be, but look at those smiles." He headmaster said, and she looked to see all sixteen of them laughing about the whole thing, and a small smile came to her face as she saw Ruby and Yang's. "Let them enjoy this feeling a little bit longer. It's not one they'll get to experience forever."

'I haven't seen them smile like that in a long time. Not since…not since Summer died.' Glynda thought, and without another word, she and Ozpin left, ignoring Sun and Neptune, the latter of which was drenched in soda while Sun didn't even have a crumb on him.

"I love these guys." Sun said, oblivious to the anger resonating from his teammate.

**One Hour Later, Team IDEA Dorms**

"Well, that escalated quickly." Ichigo said as he slumped on his bed, all of his team in fresh clothes. Ichigo wore a white t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts, Damian was now clad in a purple t-shirt and white sweatpants, Ed wore a green t-shirt that said 'what happened to Georgia?' on it and some vlack shorts, while Al now wore a black t-shirt that had a skull with a top hat and heart shaped glasses on it that said 'Bone to Be Wild' on it.

"I'll say. Yang punched me so hard that I think I saw a field of flowers." Al said, leaning back on a desk.

"It's your own fault for touching the hair. Rule number one of fighting Yang: Don't, under circumstances, touch the hair." Damian said, four bottles of water in his hand. He passed them to his teammates, who eagerly caught them.

"At least Al didn't trip on a banana peel." Ed taunted, opening his water. "Man, Ichigo, I don't think I've ever seen your mom that pissed. I'm just glad we got out of there alive."

"Just imagine what the rest of the year is going to be like. Transfer students, the festival, not to mention all the crazy shit that's no doubt lurking in the shadows, it looks like we've got a rough semester ahead of us." Ichigo said, thinking on Cinder and her companions, and how powerful they were. "Let's make each other a promise: promise that no matter what happens, no matter what enemies stand in our way, we will survive, protect the ones we love, and at the end of the year, we'll all meet up at this room and say 'That wasn't so bad.'" He said, and his teammates smiled.

"Works for me." Al said.

"Don't see why not." Damian stated.

"Shouldn't be too hard." Ed remarked, and they all raised their bottles. That day, four young men made a promise. A promise that, no matter what, they would survive whatever this semester threw at them. If only they knew how hard keeping that promise would be.

**That Night, Undisclosed Warehouse**

Marcus and Cleo entered the warehouse, where they saw Torchwick waiting for them. "Well, if it isn't my favorite pair of freaks." The career criminal said. "I swear, you two make some of the nutjobs in the White Fang look normal."

"Spare us the usual greetings, Roman. We need to talk." Marcus said, and Torchwick chuckled.

"You're right, we do. We need to talk about your little excursion into Vale today." Roman said, causing Cleo's eyes to widen.

"How did you know about that?" She asked, and Roman smiled.

"Sweetheart, I'm a professional with contacts. If a squirrel trips, I know about. If a Faunus bookstore owner turns up with a snapped neck, I know about it." Roman said. "Care to explain what that's about?"

"We were cleaning up the mess you left unchecked, and cleaned it up." Marcus said.

"It was being taken care of." Roman retorted.

"Two packed bags and a one way ticket out of the Kingdom said otherwise." Cleo said.

"Listen, you little bitch, if you two weren't God-knows-what, I'd take you, and your boy toy here and-" he started to say, when he was cut off.

"You'd do what, Roman?" A voice said from everywhere at once, and a garganta opened to deposit Cinder, her injuries completely healed.

"I'd, uh, NOT kill them in the most painful ways imaginable?" Roman said nervously.

"Lady Cinder, you shouldn't be moving yet. Your injuries-" Marcus started to say, when Cinder held up her hand.

"Have completely healed." She said, and Cleo looked at Cinder with understanding.

"So you used IT to recover faster?" She asked, and Cinder nodded.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that fact that I specifically told you two not to do anything that could tip off our enemies to our activities." Cinder said, and Marcus stood up straight."

"We had to. The Faunus was going to run all the way to Vacuo, and we couldn't risk him alerting the government about the White Fang's activities." He said, and Cinder nodded.

"Thank you, Marcus" She said, and glared at Roman, her yellow eyes glowing. "Why was this not taken care of earlier?"

"Well, in case you didn't notice, I've been a bit busy shaking the kingdom to its core." Roman said. "Cops camped out at every street, Dust prices through the roof, and all the pathetic little sheep quaking in their boots. Of course, there have been a few setbacks caused by the so called 'do-gooders.' Did you know that an entire shipment of Dust my people were smuggling from Atlas was obliterated by Eagle-Eye?" Roman asked. "Not to mention the little brats that have been disrupting my operation for the past year or so. Of course, if you told me WHY you need this much Dust, things might go a bit smoother."

"What we need it for is revenge, Roman. That's all you need to know." Cinder said, and turned to her companions. "Grab two crates. We need to replenish the energy stores."

"Yes ma'am." Marcus said, and effortlessly lifted a shipping container full of Dust as Cleo opened a garaganta, the three entering the dimensional tear. It closed, leaving Roman alone.

"Man, I hate those guys." He said.

**Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Ozpin sat at his desk, facing a woman whose upper body was obscured by shadows. "I'm glad to see you could finally make it. The second semester started nearly a month ago." Ozpin said.

"Sorry about that. Had some personal business I needed to take care of." The woman said. "What's with the lights in here?"

"My apologies. I've been meaning to get the electrical wiring looked at for a while now, but I've been too busy." Ozpin said. "I've already scheduled your first class. It'll be on Monday morning, so you'll have the whole weekend to figure out a lesson plan. I've filled it with mainly first years, though a few of them are stronger than some of our fourth year students, so you shouldn't have-"

"Did you put him in there?" The woman asked, and Ozpin nodded.

"Yes. I assumed you'd want him in there, seeing as it's been a while since you've last seen him in person." The professor said.

"One year, to be exact." The woman said, a hint of regret in her voice.

"Have you already seen him since you've arrived?" Ozpin asked.

"Nah, I'll wait until Monday. Should give him a nice surprise." The woman said. "How's he doing here?"

"Very well. His team has some of the highest combat scores in the kingdom, he gets top marks in most of his classes, and he's the best sharpshooter in his year." The headmaster stated.

"Glad to hear it. I'd have had to kick Damian's ass otherwise. I can't let him go and embarrass our family name like that." The woman said, a purple snake materializing around her arm.

**A/N: Well, first chapter is officially complete! This took me a while, and I hope you guys liked it! What do the Arrancar plan to do with that much Dust? Who is this mysterious woman, and how is she related to Damian? Eave a review, tell me what you thought of this chapter, and tune in next time for the next exciting installment of the Quincy Hunter! Oh, and before I forget, I'm instituting a few new rules for reviews this season. Rule One: Don't review saying 'update soon.' This year I have a tough school schedule, and so I won't be able to update as frequently as I did last year. Rule 2: If you go onto another one of my stories, do NOT review saying I should update this story soon. If you're going to review another one of my stories, make sure it's actually about that story. Well, that wraps it up. See you guys next time! Plus, if any of you can figure out the anime Easter egg I put in here, I'll give you a digital cookie!**


	2. ANNOUNCEMENT

**_IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT_**

**I suppose it has been a while, hasn't it? 2 years ago, on a whim, I created the Quincy Hunter, arguably one of my best stories and my most popular, so much so that people would leave reviews on other stories askng when I'd update. For the first volume, things went great. I wrote my best romance yet, had decent action scenes, and built a palpable air of tension leading up to a bigger conflict. However, after the premiere of RWBY volume 2 gave me more material to draw upon, I found myself with the desire to pursue more original stories, but found myself unable to continue, hitting a rut. And so, The Quincy Hunter was forced to go on an extended hiatus to focus on school and ideas. One year and a half later, and here we are. After much deliberation, I have decided to restart the Quincy Hunter from the ground up.**

**I realize this will probably upset a lot of you, and I am genuinely touched by your loyalty. However, as things stood, I had written myself into a corner, with plotlines and characters that were going nowhere. One of the main characters, Damian, was a spur of the moment creation with no real thought put into his character until much later. Another problem was that for a series with at least four main characters, I had mainly focused on Ichigo, instead of giving Ed, Al, and Damian due attention. I am starting from scratch now, armed with enough fleshed out characters and arcs for them that I shall no longer have the problems that plagued me in volume one.**

**The new story, retitled The Shinigami Hunter, will see multiple changes made, including to Ichigo's powerset and pairing. Other changes include: the replacement of Team IDEA with Team KLER (color), and expect trailers for each of them soon. The new Shinigami Hunter will include new plotlines, new characters, and new villains, with inspiration taken from a variety of sources including: Metal Gear Solid, Naruto, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist, and many more. It'll have bigger action, bigger plot, and all around a better story.**

**Until next time, adios amigos.**


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